NOT A PROBLEM

With Nellie McKay brightening the Carlyle last month, and Stew parking himself into this tony boite for a couple of nights as the New Stew Review, could Uptown be the new Downtown? Not yet, Muffy. And in any case, the larger-than-life bandleader-playwright has already earned his Broadway bona fides with a little musical masterpiece called Passing Strange. A punk-rock Sondheim with a glorious gospel-rock voice, Stew has recently been working with a hot and horn-heavy band that turns on a dime at his sometimes salty whim. Look for new material from upcoming musicals, gems from the Negro Problem catalog, and some of the funniest between-song banter since Paul Stanley’s KISS heyday. So head north and pay the sucka, ‘cause few do the hoodoo that Stew do so well.
Fri., March 7, 8 p.m.; Sat., March 8, 8 p.m., 2014